Red Squirrel
No Lifer
May have been faster to build HDPE box.
That's way more involved especially something that size. The tooling would cost a lot too, not worth it for a one of.
May have been faster to build HDPE box.
Eh? Cutting HDPE board with a saw, screws, caulking, done.That's way more involved especially something that size. The tooling would cost a lot too, not worth it for a one of.
You can't really just buy that as a raw material. At least not easily. Would need to collect and melt down right type of recyclables to make sheets or get an injection mold done. I suppose there might be some places to order from but would have to do lot of digging to try to find that and one that deals with regular consumers, and not companies. Also need supplies to do plastic welding like plastic rods etc. I already had plywood and tools to work with wood here.Eh? Cutting HDPE board with a saw, screws, caulking, done.
It's easy to find online, at least in the states, It is expensive, presuming something like 0.50" thick and 24x48" sheets.You can't really just buy that as a raw material. At least not easily. Would need to collect and melt down right type of recyclables to make sheets or get an injection mold done. I suppose there might be some places to order from but would have to do lot of digging to try to find that and one that deals with regular consumers, and not companies. Also need supplies to do plastic welding like plastic rods etc. I already had plywood and tools to work with wood here.
You can't really just buy that as a raw material. At least not easily. Would need to collect and melt down right type of recyclables to make sheets or get an injection mold done. I suppose there might be some places to order from but would have to do lot of digging to try to find that and one that deals with regular consumers, and not companies. Also need supplies to do plastic welding like plastic rods etc. I already had plywood and tools to work with wood here.
Once my shop is properly setup and my ATV is out of there I will have more room for all my tools to be in their own station and be ready at all times, then projects like this will go much faster. I jumped the gun on buying that ATV, I should have waited, as it's only been in the way and I have yet to even get around to riding it. I don't want to bring it to the property until I have a proper shelter for it so I can leave it there. At that point I'll look into insurance as well for it.
The longer term goal is to just have a huge shop at the property, as even the garage one is going to be small. For table and mitre saw you want at least 8 feet on both sides, and I won't be able to do that in the garage shop as it's just not big enough so even once it's setup it won't be perfect.
Hmm, 1/8” would be flesh I would think. It’s been 30 years since I worked with plastics in an industrial setting - so I’m incline to think one would still need to attach it to a 2x2 box frame.![]()
High-Density Polyethylene Puck Board - White - 4' x 8'
This highly durable EM Plastic High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Puck Board resists moisture, odours, stains and abrasions for long-lasting performanc...www.rona.ca
Hmm, 1/8” would be flesh I would think. It’s been 30 years since I worked with plastics in an industrial setting - so I’m incline to think one would still need to attach it to a 2x2 box frame.
angle brackets, seal with silicone, done. you don't need to paint, so it's a wash in terms of part cost, but much lower labour.
Still need some sort of support structure, I don't think screws would have much bite into 1/8" plastic. This is going to be a mobile application so it will get moved around and tossed in back of truck etc. There would be not real benifit in using this material especially when it's more expensive than plywood and I already had the plywood on hand, from pre pandemic pricing. The whole project would have gone faster if I had a proper shop setup. That's what slowed me down more than anything and that wouldn't change if I used plastic. Lot of back and forth and moving stuff around etc. Once I can move my ATV to my property it will free up lot of room in there.
I'm basically done at this point anyway, just need to install and wire in the equipment inside but I'm back at work now so it will have to go to another time.
plywood and paint is not going to survive in the wilderness. use bolt and nuts with hdpe and brackets if you are concerned about bite. it's a whole lot simpler than what you did.
